My daughters are already in college through Enem and life has changed for the better

Employment and Income

20.4 million jobs and record salary increases under Lula and Dilma offer workers a sense of participation

Over 20 million formal jobs, the lowest unemployment rate of all time (4.9% in April 2014), a real increase of 72.75% in the minimum wage between April/2002 and January/2014, adjustments above inflation for 84.5% of the wage negotiations for over 300 professional categories and the upward shift of 48.7 million people to the A, B and C classes make it clear: never before in the history of this country have Brazilian workers had so many achievements as under the governments of Lula and Dilma.

False myths have been knocked down: that it was necessary to grow first to be able distribute profits, that the minimum wage increases would throttle the municipal and Social Security budgets, and it would be necessary to slash workers’ rights to reduce labor costs and create more jobs. With Lula and Dilma, the expansion of rights, economic growth and wage gains went and go hand-in-hand as part of a single commitment: to build a strong country — without poverty — for all Brazilians.

Not only were 20.4 million formal jobs generated in Brazil in these 11 years. There also was a real increase of 42.9% in the average entry-level salary, going from R$ 772.58 in 2003 to R$ 1,104.12 in 2013, according to data from the Ministry of Labor. And, despite the international crisis and the carping of the usual pessimists, the domestic labor market keeps expanding. Meanwhile, around the world, the 2008 crisis eliminated 60 million jobs from 2008 through the present, whereas Brazil generated 11 million new formal positions (with an employment contract).

By overturning paradigms, the country grows and inequality decreasesGogole+Facebook

The Lula and Dilma governments helped overturn the paradigms created to justify the historic choice of government leaders to favor the wealthy. The increase in the value of the minimum wage and real wage gains experienced by workers through inclusive development led to a decline of social, regional and racial inequalities. Between 2002 and 2012 the Northeast’s C class population, for example, increased its share of the total regional population from 28% to 45%. For the first time in history, the northeastern C class exceeds D and E classes: 23.9 compared to 23.7 million people.

Neither smaller municipalities nor the Social Security system were bankrupted. Rather, economic growth and income distribution generated a beneficial cycle for the country as a whole. According to Dieese (Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies), the new minimum wage of R$ 724.00 will inject a significant amount — R$ 28.4 billion — into the economy in 2014.

Of the 48 million Brazilians whose wages are linked to the minimum wage, 21 million are Social Security beneficiaries. These are hardworking people, whose many years of labor contributed to the country and today deserve to receive a little more for their services. These are funds that go directly into the pockets of Brazilians in all municipalities around Brazil, from the largest to the smallest, helping drive local economies.

The rise of 42 million people into the C class between 2003 and 2013 has also impacted the promotion of racial equality. Today, out of every four people served by the Bolsa Família, three are mixed race or black. In rural areas, the C class doubled in size, going from 21% to 42% of the population.

Average job generation during the eight years in which the PSDB headed the federal government was nearly 630,000 per year. In 11 years of governments led by Lula and Dilma, the average has been in the range of 1.8 million formal jobs created annually. That is, almost three times greater than FHC’s average.

"Because Brazil was not growing, it was not distributing. We see examples of countries in the world that have been growing for ten years, for 14 years, at 6% per year, and there is an improvement in the quality of life of the working people. So I wanted to prove that the thesis we had to wait to grow to distribute was wrong. And I believed, possibly, it would be necessary to redistribute to get the economy to start to grow. And that's what happened in Brazil."

"In Brazil, many people said, It’s possible for the country to grow, a few get rich and the rest can remain in poverty.' Celso Furtado was an economist who said it was one thing to grow, but development was something else. A country can only be developed if, in addition to growing its economy, its people grow at the same time, if there are increasingly better jobs, if each family can put their child in school and see him or her go into a university, if each family can have access to health ... One great Brazilian said that development, for it to be development, there had to be economic growth, job generation and income distribution — or it was not developing. And what are we obtaining? We are guaranteeing employment."

“I am 58 years oif age and had the pleasure of starting my life over again. In first place I want to thank Good and in the second place I want to thank Lula. Because it was because of the Individual Micro-Business Law that Lyla created that I became an entrepreneur. And todau I have my own micro business right here in Anastásio.”

"When Lula authorized private banks to enter the payroll loan market, my life became clear, giving me the opportunity to work in informal employment. I sustain my family today with my job as a payroll loan broker."

"I became a father in the 1990s and, as a result, I stopped studying to support my family. With no job, no opportunity, I worked as a freelancer and never was able to save money in past governments. In 2004, I started a my own business, processing caçacha (rum) and then set up a bar. With the bar, I was able to finish furnishing my house six years ago. Recently, I used Enem to finish my high school education and I want this year to take an Industrial Chemistry university course. My daughters are already in college through Enem and life has changed for the better."

"The Lula government facilitated access to education, decent employment and home ownership. I took a technical course and am now in my third job through a public competition. It’s what allowed me to finance my own house. I’m a former beneficiary of the Bolsa Família who rose from poverty to C class."